12:08 AM,
Jan. 26, 2013

Kevin Klein, left, and other Predators defensemen have been slow in sparking the offense for coach Barry Trotz thus far this season.

Written by

Josh Cooper
Gannett Tennessee

The Nashville Predators have a pretty simple philosophy when it comes to drafting defensemen. They need to be mobile, they need to be able to pass with high efficiency and they have to be active offensively.

Because of this, most of the Predators' attack starts from their defensemen's ability to move the puck out of their zone with a crisp first pass. But through four games, Nashville's blueline has found itself on the outs of its offense, which caused some concern by Predators coach Barry Trotz following Nashville's 3-0 loss at St. Louis on Thursday.